The funeral of brave toddler Charlie Harris-Beard will take place on Thursday, his family have revealed.

The two-year-old lost his battle with acute myeloid leukaemia at Birmingham Children’s Hospital last week, with his parents Fiona and Joe, and sister Ellie, by his side.

An update on the family’s Facebook page, dedicated to the tot, informed followers that the service would be held at St Mary’s Church, in Churchfields, near the youngster’s home in Kidderminster, at 3pm.

Inviting everyone who followed his story, the post read: “We have shared every part of Charlie’s journey with you and many of you have grown to love Charlie.

“So we would like to share the last part of the journey by inviting you to celebrate Charlie’s life.”

The funeral will be followed by a private service at Kidderminster Crematorium for close family and friends.

Meanwhile, an epetition calling for more awareness about umbilical cord donation, set up by a family friend, has won the backing of more than 20,000 people so far.

Charlie underwent the procedure in October 2011, after he was diagnosed with cancer earlier that year.

Stem cells from an American baby’s umbilical cord were transplanted into the youngster as part of his fight against the disease.

Blood from cords can be used in patients needing bone marrow transplants who cannot find a suitable donor.

Petition creator Claire Halliwell said it should be compulsory for every pregnant woman in Britain to be informed of cord blood banking.

The document also urges the government to train midwives to harvest cord blood and to make temporary storage facilities available in every major hospital to allow its transfer to a regional centre.

The epetition quoted figures from blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan that said one in 100 cords would be used in transplantation, against one in 1,000 registered adult donors.”It can be viewed at www.direct.gov.uk/petitions/45622.

Supporters of Charlie and his family have also arranged for lanterns to be released on Friday at 8pm, in memory of the tot.

It will be done at the Lickey Hills, in Rubery, but organisers are encouraging everyone who knew of his story to also take part and release a lantern wherever they are.

For more information, check out the Facebook page Let’s Light Up the Sky.